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Author Topic: Cyan Tracks Bill Carter Expert Film Handler Posts: 162 From: Minneapolis, Minnesota Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-17-2003 04:51 PM                     Looks like it's finally happening for real... According to a fax I just received, the September 19 release of "Anything Else" will be the first to carry a cyan dye analog soundtrack. I wonder how many theaters haven't put in the LED readers yet?  |  IP: Logged Michael Schaffer "Where is the Boardwalk Hotel?" Posts: 4143 From: Boston, MA Registered: Apr 2002 posted 07-17-2003 05:26 PM                        I am sooooo scared. I have to run over to Fry`s and buy 30 red LED readers today. Thanks for the warning.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 07-17-2003 05:37 PM                        We got our fax today, too... as did a few of our other members.  |  IP: Logged Paul Salley Expert Film Handler Posts: 105 From: Liberal, Kansas Registered: Jan 2001 posted 07-17-2003 07:03 PM                  Here is a article related to this. http://www.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000857  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-17-2003 07:21 PM                     Until another studio steps in, I still don't believe the switch is finally here. It's been too long with too many threats of switching, then not going through.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-17-2003 07:46 PM                     All it will take is the loss of a show and people will convert. There is know requiremnt to provide a reprocessed silver sound track and all the major money making locations have converted anyway  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 07-17-2003 08:59 PM                     We received our notice as well. For now, it looks like we will have to run it in DTS until I get the reverse scan fixed. It blew the LED, I have the new LED to solder in, and then I can remove the old exciter and re-install the reverse scan.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-17-2003 09:11 PM                     I just saw the fax. Whoever wrote it hasn't worked with people who write the checks. It can be read two ways, one of which is that if you have digital sound you are fine without upgrading.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 07-17-2003 10:01 PM                        As expected, conversion of the first release to cyan dye analog tracks wasn't too long after NATO's promised conversion date of July 3, 2003, for installing red LED readers in most of their member theatres: http://www.dyetracks.org  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-17-2003 11:31 PM                        Will the prints be dual-inventory (silver track and dye track)? If so, then I don't see much cause for concern. If it's single-inventory cyan, then there will be lots of cancelled shows and angry customers on opening night. Obviously this isn't a problem for most of the newer theatres, but I've worked in many older houses that haven't converted (at least one of which simply can't convert...unless there's an LED kit for Western Electric Universal Bases available somewhere). This will also be "fun" for the many booths which run film only a couple of times per year or so and whose owners (who usually aren't film people) may not have gotten the news about the need to "upgrade." I'm afraid that the people who make these decisions for the distributors are out of touch with the independent exhibitor and only seem to care about the newer "highest grossing locations." Sad.  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 07-18-2003 12:15 AM                     We'll see. From what I undestand, the big SNAFU is marketing. It might require dual inventory as Scott suggested. That market being the overseas market, where very few LED readers have been installed.  |  IP: Logged Nicholas Roznovsky Expert Film Handler Posts: 156 From: College Station, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-18-2003 12:24 AM                        I know that our company is now getting around to ordering the new fancy-dan red LED readers because of this. Just goes to show, for all the fuss people make about DLP and digital sound, they can still find a way to squeeze some more $$$ out of you on your analog!  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 07-18-2003 12:47 AM                        quote: Will the prints be dual-inventory (silver track and dye track)? According to the fax, no. It will be 100% cyan dye. Good read, Brad. If somebody interprets that fax to mean they're ok with digital, they'd better hope it doesn't drop out!  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-18-2003 02:22 AM                     Yup that's the problem Jack. Hmmmm, let's see how a common conversation with the money guys who have no clue as to what they are doing in the booth would go.......... "We need to get red readers for our projectors." "Great." "I didn't figure you would be excited about spending the money." "I think it's a great idea. It's a great investment." "Ok well it's a good investment, but it's not going to be a drop in the bucket since none of your projectors have been converted yet. The money will add up." "That's no problem. What $20, $30 a screen, right?" "Ah, actually it could cost a few hundred a screen." "What? Why that much and why do you want to make the light red anyway?" "It's because the studios are starting to make cyan dye soundtracks on their prints and they can only be read with a red light reader." "Oh yeah I know all about that." "Ok so then so how do you want to get the ball rolling?" "On what?" "On converting to red light readers." "Wouldn't that screw up the picture?" "I'm not talking about the xenon light being red." "Oh I know, but wouldn't a red light reader make the picture all reddish looking?" "No it wouldn't, because I am talking about the optical soundtrack reader." "Yeah I know what you are talking about. I have plenty of experience in the booth you don't have to dumb it down for me." "Ok then you know the consequences if we don't upgrade?" "Yeah I know, but if we have the projectionists keep a close eye on things it should be fine." "It doesn't quite work like that." "Yes it does, I've gotten through runs with bad prints before by keeping an eye on things." "This isn't an operator issue. It's a matter of the fact that we need a red light source for the soundhead to be able to read the sound off of the film so we can have audio on these new cyan dye based prints." "Yeah I know all about that. I've done that before." "Done what before?" "Made cyan prints." (Astonished at the bullshit at this point) "Great, so then you see why we have to do this." "Do what?" "Why we have to have red readers, so the exciter lamp in the soundhead will be a red light source so we will have sound." "Yeah I know how it works. Remember I'm not stupid. All we need is a red light source." "Well yes, in order to play these new evil cyan tracks we do." "Ok then just go down to Wal*Mart and buy some of those red colored report covers and wrap it around the bulbs." "It doesn't quite work like that." "Sure it does, don't tell me it doesn't, I've done it before when we got cyan prints." "No you haven't because they have never released cyan dye prints before now." "Yes they have, I've played a lot of them over the years at different theaters and I know it works." "Ok whatever, this doesn't change the fact that we are going to need the red readers." "I've got a strand of multicolored Christmas lights. Maybe we could just use the red bulbs out of that?" "Again, it doesn't quite work that way. We have to have the real deal if we want to play these films. It's a compatibility issue." "This sounds like an under the table scam going on with the studios and the red light reader company. I'm going to have to call the studios and have lunch with them. I'll explain things and get them to pay for them since they are the ones changing the film to red exciter lights." "That's not going to work either. The studios aren't putting forth a penny to any theater for this. Not even the big chains are getting funding to cover this." "Maybe they will trade red readers for movie passes." "Who? The manufacturers?" "No, the studio people." "Yeah, I'm sure they would just love a free pass to see their movie opening weekend." "Oh no I would give them VIP passes. Those aren't good for the first couple of weeks." "Ah, even better. Yes this is definitely a good idea." "You sound sarcastic. You don't think it will work?" "No" (Spoken deadpan, bored and sick of wasting my time explaining by now) "Well I'll just make sure they send us normal prints and send the cyan prints to the other theaters." "They aren't going to be making any more of the conventional redeveloped tracks. There will not be a dual inventory." "So we won't have any sound at all when this happens if we don't spend this money, right?" "No, the digital will continue to play fine, just so long as it doesn't drop out to analog." "Why would it drop out?" "Printing defects, lab splices, lots of things could cause a dropout." "Well this fax I got from Dreamworks says that if you have digital sound you don't need to worry about having red readers. Besides the customers don't want to hear analog sound anyway, that's why we bought the digital in the first place. This whole conversation is a waste of time. We don't need those red readers." ...and so forth and so on. This may seem funny but I swear there are people out there like this! In fact, I know of one theater in particular that I am going to have this exact conversation with. I'll bet it's damn near word for word from what's above too.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 07-18-2003 02:34 AM                        Brad, That was hysterical...satire at its best. You missed a calling as a sitcom writer....the scary thing is, you can almost believe this conversation really took place! Thanks for the laughs! Frank  |  IP: Logged

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